Villains
by Mia Story
Summary: Evil Queen Snow and Charming definitely do not share true love-or do they? (Dark Snow and Charming in the author's AU from operation mongoose)
1. Chapter 1

_This will never work she tells herself_. But she has ran out of options. She tried using her magic in three different ways to no avail. He has been poisoned and he is going to die. She knows that she doesn't love him and he definitely doesn't love her. But as he lays on her bed drawing his last breath shaking and shivering her heart aches for him. She leans over and kisses him on the lips.

Everything is perfectly still. She takes a step back and looks at him. He is not making a sound. She sighs. Of course it didn't work. True love's kiss cant'possibly work between an evil queen and a dark knight who doesn't even have a heart. And then it happens. He draws one long deep breath and opens his eyes. He is surprised to see her there."You saved me!"  
She doesn't know what to say. She is just as surprised as he is.  
"I did" she says softly without her usual haughty tone.  
"What happened to if anyone is so incompetent as to get themselves hurt they deserve what's coming to them?" he asks."Careful your majesty they will think you have gone soft."  
"Do you have a death wish Charming?"she counters."Poison can't hurt me. I already explained all that to you. Why did you take the wine from me?"  
He doesn't have an answer for her. When he saw the eager greedy look on the wine steward's face he immediately knew there was something wrong with the wine. He had to intervene. So he grabbed the glass out of her hand and took a sip. He'd dropped on the floor immediately. He was convulsing so violently that Grumpy yelled out loud and Granny screamed. Queen Snow had knelt right next to him and tried to use her magic, but it didn't work. Then she used her powers to transport them to her private quarters away from prying eyes.

They glare at each other for a moment without saying anything. Charming turns his head and looks at the ceiling. Queen Snow turns around and leaves the room.

He cannot possibly love this woman. He remembers the first time he ever laid eyes on her. She rode her carriage to his farm, walked right up to him. She was wearing a black dress and her face was covered with a dark veil. Wilby was immediately growling and barking at her. He'd ordered Wilby to stop and then he asked "What can I do for you?"  
She had lifted her veil and stared at his face. He could tell that she'd been crying. Her hair was dark, her lips were red and her skin was so white. For a split second he took a step forward as if he was going to put his hand on her shoulder and try to make her feel better. Her cold stare stopped him his tracks. She was both beautiful and terrifying at the same time.  
"Are you alright? Can I help you?" he had asked again.  
"I don't know, can you?" Her voice was cold and quiet. "Can you handle a sword?"  
"Yes."  
"Show me."  
A sword had appeared out of nowhere right in the palm of his hand.  
"Come at me" she had said as a second sword appeared in her hand.  
"Why? I don't want to fight you."  
"Show me what you can do. Don't worry, you can't hurt me."  
He stood there staring at her, totally confused.  
"Fine, have it your way." she had said and she came at him full force aiming for his heck. He countered her attack. They fought each other for a minute, then she snapped her fingers and the swords disappeared.  
"Not bad" she said coldly "You got potential"  
He was out of breath."Who are you and what do you want from me?"  
"I'm Snow White."  
He took a step back as soon as she uttered her name.  
"I see you've heard of me. I want you to join my Black Knights. I assume you've heard enough about me to know better than to refuse me."  
"I will never join your knights." he said defiantly.  
"Charming" she had said and then she took a step forward. "Never is such a strong word, don't you think?"And just like that she reached inside his chest and grabbed a hold of his heart. He gasped and doubled over in pain. He felt as if cold fingers had reached inside his soul and stolen his joy, all his hopes and dreams. She pulled out his heart and looked at it. "Charming" she said again. He looked at his heart bright red, beating inside the palm of her hand and the rest of his world got a little darker. He no longer felt pain, not much of it anyway. He no longer felt much of anything.  
"Why me?" he asked.  
"Let's just say you have the right look."  
She lifted his heart to her lips "You will be joining my knights Charming, now follow me to my carriage."  
This was a new sensation for him, the inability to control his own body or his own will. It was as if he wanted to do what she asked. He had lost any desire to resist. He followed her quietly to her carriage.


	2. Chapter 2

Snow is in her garden under her special apple tree holding Charming's heart in her hand. _She could crush it at any moment she tells herself. He is no more special to her than any of her other knights. Sure, he is the only knight that looks identical to James but he is nothing like him so the resemblance is irrelevant. He does everything she asks of him all day every day. He does everything she asks at night too. And when she orders him out of her bedroom at the end of what she calls a "bedroom session" he looks down and walks away. He never questions any of her orders. The first time she asked him to cut someone's tongue out he had hesitated but just for a brief second. Just one time. He is a perfect knight, he has good instincts and he is pretty clever. That is exactly why she appreciates him, she tells herself. He's easy on the eyes and not bad in bed. She could replace him if she wanted to but why would she? A smart queen surrounds herself with capable people and he is capable. At this point she won't go anywhere without him. She insists that he accompanies her everywhere. She has one hundred dark knights, she owns all their hearts but it is always his heart that she is talking to or yelling at_. Sometimes late at night when she is alone in her room she pulls out his heart just to look at it. She likes how red it is and how bright it glows against the darkness.

 _She doesn't love him. She is used to him being around, definitely comfortable in his presence. That is all, she tells herself. Then why, why did true love's kiss work? How do you explain that? She cannot explain that away. When she saw him laying there shivering about to die she felt actual physical pain. Her whole body ached at the thought of loosing him. She still feels pain just by remembering what almost happened to him. How does one explain that away? And why does he love her back? She has done nothing but been cruel and mean to him. She has bent his will to her every whim with complete disregard to his needs and feelings. No one in their right mind would love that. She has to know. She has to know for sure what exactly is happening between them._

He is still laying in her bed, he hasn't moved since she walked out of the room. _He doesn't love her, he tells himself. Not having a heart and being at someone's beck and call doesn't give one a lot of time for introspection but he does remember what love is and this isn't it. He does love someone. He has this recurring dream of a woman with long hair and white skin who walks up to him and says "You would die for me? No one has been willing to die for me before." And in that moment he feels so much love for her, that if his heart was still in his chest it would probably burst. Deep inside he knows that woman and Queen Snow White are the same person. In a different life, maybe in a different land there's a different version of her, untouched by evil and he loves, loves, loves that version of her. But she's not real. Not real. Except the kiss they shared says otherwise. What if she is real? What if the woman from the dream and Queen Snow are actually the same person?_

 _Sometimes late at night when he is laying alone in his room he can feel her fingers gripping his heart, moving it around, playing with it. Why does she do that? She could just as easily control him if his heart was in her secret vault. Why does she always carry it around? She seems obsessed with his heart. He used to think that it was a show of strength, a way to tell him that she was in complete control of him at all times. But maybe it's something more. Maybe she carries his heart around because she can't bear to part with. Maybe deep down she loves him and doesn't even know it. Does she love him? He has to know._

Snow White walks in her bedroom quietly. There's something different about her. She doesn't have her usual air of confident arrogance. His first instinct is to get off her bed and get out of her room before she can get a a chance to snap her fingers and order him out. Out of all the incredibly arrogant things she does this is the one that bothers him the most. He fights his instinct and sits up instead. She sits right next to him. She seems about to say something but she hesitates. He doesn't give her another chance to talk. He wraps his arms around her and kisses her again and again. He pulls her softly on the bed next to him as she moans and doesn't offer any resistance.

Snow is laying in her bed next to Charming. The way he made love to her again and again has left her completely overwhelmed and in tears. How did he know how to make love to her like that, she wonders. After everything she put him through why does he even love her?

"How did you know how to do that?" She doesn't mean to yell but her voice seems loud compared to the silence of the bedroom.  
"Did I do something wrong?"  
"No, you did everything just perfect with amazing precision ..." her voice is still too loud.  
"Did I hurt you?"  
"No"  
"Could you please refrain from yelling at me for doing things right when I'm trying to sleep?" he says his eyes still closed half a smirk on his face.  
"But how did you know I would like that?"  
"Lucky guess.  
"A lot of lucky guesses. Try again.  
"We've made love before."  
"Never. Not like that."  
"In a different life," he mumbles.  
"What?"  
"Come here."  
Charming grabs her and pulls her closer to him without even opening his eyes."We are sleeping now, close your eyes". He kisses the back of her neck and says "I love you Snow."  
Snow remains quiet.  
"That's when you say I love you Charming."  
"I never say that."  
"Yes, you do you, you say it all the time," he mumbles.  
He is breathing heavily now. Charming is asleep.  
Snow is laying in his arms wide awake now more confused than ever.


	3. Chapter 3

Snow has had a terrible day. First the dwarves were obstinent, then Granny laughed at her and then she got the news that bandit Regina robbed another royal carriage. It's almost as if the entire kingdom is sensing that she has had a moment of a weakness and they are trying to take advantage of it. Charming on the other hand seems to be having a great day. He has been on his best behavior all day. He has followed her every command to the most minute detail. He is smiling a lot instead of his usual serious stare. Come to think of it she has never seen him smile before. And the weirdest thing of all is that his heart is glowing brighter and feels warmer today.

She is walking around the castle looking for him. She could use his heart to summon him, but she cannot bring herself to do that, not after last night. She finally finds him in the armory.  
"Charming, bed, now."  
He turns around looks at her and doesn't move.  
She looks at him surprised.  
"Charming?"  
"You should try asking nicely."  
"Charming will you join me in the bedroom?" Snow says with fake half nice half seductive tone she reserves mostly for him.  
"No" Charming says again quietly.  
Snow is glaring at him.  
"What?"  
"Asking nicely implies that I have a choice."  
Snow is confused and a little annoyed."I don't understand, is this a game? Do you want me to make you?"  
"No"  
She lifts up his heart to her lips. He is right there, standing upright looking at her, completely defenceless. She lowers her hand. She is furious at herself and at him. She storms out of the room.

Five minutes later she storms right back in. He is still standing right where she left him as if he knew she would be right back.  
"I don't understand. You decided to resist now that you know that I love you? That makes no sense Charming. Why?" she yells.  
"It makes perfect sense. I didn't know you had it in you. I didn't know I had it in me. But you do. So do I. I don't want this half awake existence anymore. I want true love." he takes a step towards her, "so give me my heart back and let me love you."  
"Your heart back? Never!"  
"Never? Never is such a strong word" he says trying to make light of the moment, his eyes actually pleading.  
"You wouldn't love me if you had your heart back."  
"I would. I already do."  
"How can you be sure?"  
"I can't be sure. When it comes to true love you have to take a chance."  
Snow doesn't move."Charming I cut people's fingers off, I removed their tongues, I turned them into rats. If you had your heart...you couldn't love that. If you had your heart you 'd look at me the same way you did that first day, when I told you who I was."  
"How can you be so sure? It was my sword, my knife. It was my hands. You didn't do this alone. That first day, you were crying, I thought you were the most beautiful woman I 'd ever seen"  
"It might have been your sword but you didn't actually have a choice."  
"Oh, there is always a choice."  
"Fine. You can share the culpability if you like but you are nothing like me. Do you realize you still wince every time I ask you to do something awful?"  
"Snow, somewhere in between worlds or dreams or stories there's a Snow and a Charming that truly love each other. They love each other so much they would die for each other over and over and over again. I know that because I see this Snow in my dreams every night. I want us to be them or like them or maybe just a better version of ourselves. You can be more, I can be more, don't you see? I love you and you love me. There is no risk. Let me have my heart back!"  
Snow grabs his shirt, pulls him towards her and kisses him passionately. He wraps his arms around her and kisses her back. When he pulls back and there's so much hope and love in his eyes that Snow cannot bear to look at him. She takes a step back.

"She's not me Charming." she says quietly."Don't you see? Its too late for me. True love's kiss worked because you have this image of me in your head that's not real. She's not me. That could never be me." Snow turns around slowly and walks away. Charming's shoulder's drop. He watches her walk away, his heart in her hand and his eyes well up with unshed tears. And just like that his world turns dark, cold and broken again.


	4. Chapter 4

Charming relieves the knight that was guarding at the castle's gate. That is not one of his duties but tonight he needs something to do. There is a storm raging outside and he is enjoying the loud noises. Anything to break the stillness of the night or his thoughts. He had woken up this morning in Snow's bedroom and he had felt so hopeful as if everything was about to change. _Love will do that to you he thinks to himself bitterly whether it be true or false or imaginary. Something is seriously wrong with this world. Or maybe his story is just broken._

He has heard that once your heart is outside of your body you can go days without sleep so he plans on staying awake for a few days. He cannot fall asleep and face that woman of his dreams again. _"You would really die for me?"_ He needs to forget. A man without a heart feels no pain. All he has to do is let go of all hope and surrender himself to the darkness.

Snow is siting in her bedroom in the dark listening to the thunderstorm staring at Charming's heart again. That's when it happens. All of a sudden his heart grows dimmer. It's still beating, it's still red but its now a little darker.

It's morning time and the castle is abuzz about the stranger found in the forest that is telling tall tales about a magical book.  
Charming can hear Snow's voice "GET IN HERE!"  
He walks in "No need to yell Snow, I will always find you."  
"I will always find you what?"  
"I will always find you your majesty. _"_

THE END

Thank you for the reviews on the first chapter.

(Also I'd like to dedicate this story to my husband who doesn't care for OUAT but is really good at loving me.)


End file.
